Reflection for March 26 Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent: Matthew 5:17-19

Gospel: Matthew 5:17-19

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.   

Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

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Reflection:

Do you obey, teach, and live the laws of the Lord? 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about Himself as the fulfillment of the law. In effect, He was telling the disciples, "I am now the fulfillment of those commandments from the Old Testament." 

For example, the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17), which God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai, were summarized by Jesus into the two greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40). 

Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments, reducing them to the two greatest commandments of love. Indeed, if we truly love Jesus, there would be no room for hatred, condemnation, self-righteousness, bigotry, or narrow-mindedness. 

What would remain in our hearts is love, for love is the advocacy and language of Jesus. Jesus’ love for us is unlike the love we have—His love is not selective but embraces everyone, no matter who we are. 

This is the kind of love we must emulate: to love everyone, even if they do not love us back, and regardless of the sins they have committed against us. —Marino J. Dasmarinas